Stuff

[original_aj]

Periodic Table that is a table

Interesting article about Amish use of technology. The conclusions I agree with: "In my own house, we decided to get a rollover to voicemail instead of call waiting - experiences on the receiving end of call waiting convinced us that both parties on the other end of the line get pissed off when you interrupt the conversation. No matter how absorbing the flame war of the moment might be, I make a point of suspending online communication when someone in my presence attempts to talk with me. And I've come to believe that face-to-face conversation should outrank disembodied conversation via cell phone or email." Discuss?

Comments

[spudtater.livejournal.com]

> face-to-face conversation should outrank disembodied conversation via cell phone or email.

Face-to-face conversation is certainly superior; it's vastly higher bandwidth!

I do dislike the disruption of telephones; one of my policies that I always try to stick to is to never answer the phone during a meal, for example. For this reason I much prefer texting; it's considered acceptable to put off answering a text for up to a couple of hours, which I think displays a better sense of priorities.

However, sometimes I prefer email and text to face-to-face conversation; like many geeks, I'm not always in the mood for full human interaction.